Turn on the radio, and you’ll hear Andy Williams sing about how it’s the most wonderful time of the year—thanks in large part to the parties, sweet treats and festivities of the holiday season. But as a middle school science teacher for the past 10 ... More >>

Challenge
Let’s start with a challenge: I challenge each of you as school administrators to walk into a small classroom of students and ask how many of them have a personal brand. Take count as to how many students raise their hands. Will it ... More >>

Schools with a strong sense of community are positive places where children, parents, and staff all work together in an environment that has the potential to help each individual find success. Creating that sense of community is similar to building ... More >>

Promote, Not Guarantee
No matter what grade or subject we teach, our work is to promote the long-term flourishing of kids. That verb, promote, is important. We cannot guarantee, force, or omnipotently deign that our students will go on to lea... More >>

Meeting the needs of students with special needs requires a wide array of specialized services and the expertise of many professionals. The vast majority of children with special needs are served in public schools. The public school setting has many... More >>

Seeking to to help incoming ninth grade students transition successfully, many high schools have instituted a dedicated course often referred to as freshman seminar. But what about the transition out of high school? What do our junior and senior s... More >>

As more children with autism are served in public school classrooms, teachers need skills to meet their needs. Autism is a highly variable disability, which makes it difficult to train teachers how to best support students with autism in inclusive e... More >>

In the late 1960s, a fire on the Cuyohoga River in Cleveland as a result of industrial pollution became a galvanizing image in the environmental movement and was credited in part with garnering the support to create the EPA. This led in 1972 to the ... More >>

Desiyah, a 10th grader, began arguing with one of her classmates about a group project they were working on. The teacher asked her repeatedly to calm down and lower her voice. Desiyah ignored her teacher. Instead, she continued to argue and became i... More >>

Relevant Tags: SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING

A DIFFERENT APPROACHCould Bullying Be Stopped by Socializing Children to Think Differently About Their Interactions with Others?

Preparing children to make their own way in the world is one of the most important tasks we take on as parents and educators. We teach children to treat others as they want to be treated themselves, and to strive for positive, productive interaction... More >>

Thomas Edison said, “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” With encouragement and support, students are willing to take healthy risks. They are eager to try and learn. As educa... More >>

Social emotional learning (SEL) is spreading like wildfire — and not just in the United States. Countries such as the United Kingdom, Singapore, and China are starting to implement SEL in their schools as well
Why now? Why all of a sudden are s... More >>

Why would we listen? While reading a book and leading a discussion with a class of third graders, I asked students the question, “How do you feel when someone says, ‘Good job!’ to you?” The answers were not what I expected. “Horrible, “Put down” and... More >>

There is growing policy; fiscal and practical support for prosocial educational and school climate improvement efforts from federal agencies, state departments of education and large and small districts across America. But there are meaningful chall... More >>

Nationally, schools are required to establish standards of appropriate behavior that promote a safe learning community. This assumes students are prepared to achieve, are receptive to authority, and are amenable to rules and consequences. Though pre... More >>